Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs for PMOS: A Whole-Body Approach

If you've been diagnosed with PCOS, you may start hearing a new name for the condition: PMOS, or Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome.

And I have to say—I think the new name makes a lot more sense.

For years, the term polycystic ovary syndrome put much of the attention on the ovaries and those infamous “cysts.” But this condition is much bigger than the ovaries. PMOS can involve hormone signaling, insulin and blood sugar regulation, metabolism, ovulation, menstrual cycles, fertility, skin, hair and emotional well-being.

That's exactly why I don't like approaching it as simply an ovarian problem.

In my practice, I use acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and functional medicine to look at the bigger picture and ask one of my favorite questions:

Why is your body creating this pattern in the first place?

What Is PMOS?

Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) is the new name for the condition previously called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).

PMOS is a complex hormonal and metabolic condition that can affect ovulation, menstrual cycles, androgen levels and metabolic health.

And despite what the old name suggested, you don't necessarily need to have ovarian “cysts” to have the condition.

Symptoms can also look completely different from one woman to another.

Some common signs of PMOS include:

• Irregular or absent periods

• Difficulty ovulating

• Difficulty getting pregnant

• Acne

• Excess facial or body hair

• Thinning hair on the scalp

• Weight gain or difficulty managing weight

• Insulin resistance

• Blood sugar problems

• Darkening of the skin in certain areas

• Fatigue

• Mood changes

One woman may come to me because she hasn't had a period in three months.

Another may have relatively regular periods but struggle with acne, facial hair and insulin resistance.

Someone else may not realize she has PMOS until she starts trying to get pregnant.

Same diagnosis. Very different presentation.

And that's where Chinese medicine gets interesting.

Why the Change From PCOS to PMOS Matters

The new terminology recognizes something that's incredibly important: this isn't simply a condition of the ovaries.

PMOS can involve multiple endocrine and metabolic systems.

For many women, insulin resistance is an important part of the picture. Higher insulin levels can influence ovarian hormone production and contribute to increased androgen activity, which can interfere with normal follicle development and ovulation.

But insulin isn't the entire story either.

Hormones, metabolism, genetics, inflammation, sleep, stress, nutrition and other physiological factors may all influence the overall picture.

This is one of the reasons a whole-body approach makes so much sense to me.

If the problem involves multiple systems, why would we only look at one?

How Does Chinese Medicine View PMOS?

Traditional Chinese medicine obviously didn't have a diagnosis called PMOS thousands of years ago.

Instead, we look at the pattern of symptoms occurring in the individual woman.

Your menstrual cycle, digestion, energy, sleep, body temperature, skin, cravings, stress, tongue and pulse all give us information.

Several Chinese medicine patterns commonly appear in women with PMOS.

Spleen Qi Deficiency and Dampness

In Chinese medicine, the Spleen is responsible for transforming and transporting nutrients and fluids.

When this system becomes weak, Dampness can accumulate.

Women with this pattern may experience bloating, fatigue, heaviness, sluggish digestion, loose stools, cravings and weight gain.

When I see PMOS accompanied by insulin resistance, digestive symptoms and difficulty managing weight, I'm often looking closely for signs of Spleen deficiency and Dampness.

Phlegm-Dampness

When Dampness becomes more pronounced, we may describe the pattern as Phlegm-Dampness.

And no, this doesn't necessarily mean you have a bunch of mucus.

Chinese medicine uses the term Phlegm much more broadly to describe certain types of accumulation and stagnation in the body.

In PMOS, this pattern may show up alongside weight gain, sluggish metabolism, irregular periods and difficulty ovulating.

Liver Qi Stagnation

The Liver is responsible for the smooth movement of Qi throughout the body in Chinese medicine.

When Liver Qi becomes stagnant, women may experience irritability, PMS, breast tenderness, menstrual irregularity, emotional tension or digestive symptoms that become worse during periods of stress.

This is an incredibly common pattern in my practice.

Because apparently our bodies did not get the memo that we're supposed to remain completely relaxed while juggling work, family, hormones and everything else life throws at us.

Damp-Heat

Some women with PMOS have more obvious signs of Damp-Heat.

I may see inflammatory or cystic acne, oily skin, irritability, feeling hot, heavier vaginal discharge or other signs of inflammation.

When PMOS is accompanied by insulin resistance, acne, weight gain and inflammatory symptoms, Damp-Heat may become an important part of the treatment strategy.

Kidney Deficiency

The Kidneys have an important relationship with reproductive development, fertility and the menstrual cycle in Chinese medicine.

Kidney Qi, Yin or Yang deficiency may become particularly important when periods are very irregular or when a woman with PMOS is trying to conceive.

And here's the part that sometimes surprises people:

You can have several of these patterns at the same time.

You might have Spleen deficiency with Dampness, Liver Qi stagnation and Kidney deficiency.

Which is why Googling “the best Chinese herb for PMOS” isn't necessarily going to get you very far.

How Can Acupuncture Support Women With PMOS?

When I use acupuncture for PMOS, I'm not simply putting needles over the ovaries and calling it a day.

Treatment is based on the woman's individual pattern and what we're trying to accomplish.

For one patient, our priority may be supporting more regular menstrual cycles.

For another, we may be working on fertility and ovulation.

Another may be dealing primarily with stress, digestive symptoms, acne or metabolic issues.

Acupuncture is being studied for its potential influence on areas such as autonomic nervous system regulation, reproductive signaling, ovarian function and metabolic health.

But clinically, I think one of its greatest strengths is that we can treat the whole pattern at the same time.

Supporting More Regular Menstrual Cycles and Ovulation

One of my first questions with PMOS is:

Are you ovulating regularly?

Your period isn't just an inconvenience that shows up every month.

The menstrual cycle gives us valuable information about communication between the brain, ovaries and the rest of the endocrine system.

If your cycles are 45, 60 or 90 days apart—or your period disappears altogether—I want to understand why ovulation isn't occurring consistently.

Acupuncture treatments can be adjusted according to where you are in your menstrual cycle and your individual Chinese medicine pattern.

PMOS and the Nervous System

This is an area of hormone health that I think gets overlooked.

Your reproductive system doesn't exist independently from your nervous system.

Your autonomic nervous system influences processes throughout the body, including digestion, cardiovascular function and the physiological stress response.

When someone with PMOS is chronically stressed, sleeping poorly and constantly feeling tired but wired, I'm not going to ignore that simply because her chief complaint is irregular periods.

Sometimes supporting hormone health means we also need to support the environment those hormones are operating in.

And acupuncture is one of my favorite tools for doing exactly that.

PMOS, Insulin Resistance and Blood Sugar

One of the reasons I like the new name Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome is that it finally puts more emphasis on the metabolic component of this condition.

Insulin resistance is common in women with PMOS, although it isn't present in every woman.

When insulin resistance is part of the picture, I don't want to focus exclusively on estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

I want to look at metabolic health too.

Depending on the patient, I may evaluate fasting glucose, fasting insulin, hemoglobin A1C, lipids and other metabolic markers.

And this is where combining functional medicine with acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be especially helpful.

Nutrition, protein intake, strength training, movement, sleep and nervous system regulation may all become part of the treatment plan.

Chinese Herbal Medicine for PMOS

Chinese herbal medicine gives us another way to individualize treatment.

There isn't one Chinese herbal formula that I give to every woman with PMOS.

That would completely miss the point of Chinese medicine.

Herbal formulas are selected according to the patient's individual pattern, which may include her menstrual cycle, digestion, temperature, skin, energy, tongue, pulse and other symptoms.

For example, a woman with significant Spleen deficiency and Dampness may need a very different herbal strategy from a woman whose presentation is dominated by Liver Qi stagnation and Heat.

Someone with significant acne and Damp-Heat may require another approach.

And a woman actively trying to conceive may need a treatment strategy that changes according to follicular development, ovulation and the luteal phase.

The formula can also change as the patient changes.

I don't expect you to have exactly the same pattern six months from now that you have today.

That's the beauty of individualized Chinese herbal medicine.

Can Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs Help With PMOS Fertility?

PMOS can interfere with regular ovulation, which can make getting pregnant more difficult for some women.

But having PMOS does not automatically mean you can't become pregnant.

When I'm working with a PMOS patient who wants to conceive, I don't want our only goal to be:

Get pregnant.

I want to improve the environment in which we're asking pregnancy to occur.

Are you ovulating?

How long are your cycles?

How is your blood sugar?

Are you insulin resistant?

Are you eating enough nutrients and protein?

How are you sleeping?

How is your digestion?

What do your hormones look like?

What does your Chinese medicine pattern tell me?

Depending on the patient, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine may be incorporated into a broader fertility plan, including alongside conventional fertility care when appropriate.

The treatment plan for a 25-year-old woman who simply wants more predictable periods may look very different from the plan for a 37-year-old woman with PMOS who is actively trying to conceive.

The goal matters.

PMOS, Weight Gain and Metabolic Health

Women with PMOS are frequently told: “Just lose weight.”

That's not much of a treatment plan.

If insulin resistance, appetite signaling, sleep, stress, hormones and metabolic changes are part of what's happening physiologically, simply telling someone to eat less doesn't address the bigger picture.

I would rather focus on improving metabolic health.

Are you eating adequate protein?

Are your meals helping stabilize blood sugar?

Are you strength training?

Are you skipping breakfast and then starving by 4 p.m.?

Are you sleeping seven or eight hours—or surviving on five?

Is fasting insulin elevated even though your A1C looks perfectly normal?

How is your digestion?

What is happening with your menstrual cycle?

These questions give me much more useful information than simply looking at the number on the scale.

Functional Medicine Testing for PMOS

Not every woman with PMOS needs every functional medicine test available.

More testing isn't automatically better testing.

But labs can be extremely helpful when we're trying to understand an individual's pattern.

Depending on the patient, I may evaluate markers related to:

Blood sugar and insulin, thyroid function, androgens, reproductive hormones, nutrient status, inflammation, liver health and overall metabolic health.

Then I compare the laboratory findings with what the patient is actually experiencing.

Because I've said this many times in my practice:

“Normal” isn't always the end of the conversation.

If your labs technically fall within a reference range but you're telling me your periods disappeared, your skin suddenly changed, you're exhausted and you don't feel like yourself, I'm going to keep asking questions.

Dr. Stephanie's Tip: If you have PMOS, don't focus only on your period.

Your menstrual cycle is giving us information, but so are your energy, digestion, blood sugar, sleep, skin, hair, cravings, body composition and stress response.

Look for the pattern.

A woman with irregular periods, inflammatory acne, weight gain, bloating and insulin resistance is giving me a very different clinical picture than a woman with irregular periods who is thin, exhausted, cold and showing signs of deficiency.

Same diagnosis. Different pattern. Different treatment.

That's one of the things I love most about Chinese medicine.

A Whole-Body Approach to PMOS

The transition from PCOS to PMOS isn't just a name change.

The term Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome better reflects what women with this condition have been experiencing all along: this can be a complex condition involving much more than the ovaries.

And that's why I believe treatment should look at more than the ovaries too.

At New Direction Natural Medicine in Altamonte Springs, I combine acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and functional medicine to take a more individualized approach to PMOS.

Depending on what's happening in your body, we may work on menstrual regularity, ovulation, insulin resistance, metabolic health, digestion, inflammation, stress regulation, fertility and overall hormone health.

Because I don't just want to ask:

“How do we manage your PMOS symptoms?”

I want to understand:

acupuncture-and-chinese-herbs-for-pmos-a-whole-body-approach“Why is your body creating this particular pattern?”

If you're looking for an individualized approach to PMOS (formerly PCOS) in Altamonte Springs, Orlando or the surrounding Central Florida area, schedule a consultation at New Direction Natural Medicine to learn how acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and functional medicine may fit into your treatment plan.